Is Using Cash the Cheapest Option for Travel and Vacations?

I have heard that using cash is the cheapest way to pay while traveling. Even cheaper than using a debit card or credit card to pay. Is that true?

Hi there,

moneyland.ch recently conducted a study of the banknote rates (cash rates) and forex rates (non-cash) used by Swiss banks and SBB/CFF. The study shows that travelers can obtain smaller amounts of certain currencies at a lower price when they change money at banks in cash, compared to using cards to make payments or withdrawals while abroad.

Whether or not taking foreign currency with you works out cheaper depends on the currency in question, the bank which exchanges the money and the foreign transaction fees charged by your card issuer. You can find your card's foreign transaction fee and cash withdrawal fee using the moneyland.ch credit card and prepaid card comparison and the private account comparison (for debit cards).

You can request the comparisons at the bottom of these articles:
Swiss bank currency exchange rate comparison
Banknote rates and forex rates in Switzerland

It is also worth noting that U.S. dollars are widely accepted and changed in many countries around the world, often at particularly good rates. In Some cases you can save money by buying and taking U.S. dollars with you rather than buying "exotic" currencies directly in Swiss francs.

Another point worth considering is that in Switzerland, you can sometimes get a better rate by changing Swiss francs into U.S. dollars or Euro and then changing those into less-widely-used currencies.

Best regards from Moneyguru

More on this topic:
Foreign currency: getting the best rates
Swiss credit cards: foreign transaction fees